Home & Garden

Healthy soil is a living system. Alongside roots, bacteria, earthworms and other organisms, fungi help break down organic matter and influence the way soil holds water, air and nutrients. For many home gardeners, the most useful way to support soil fungi is not to buy a specialist product, but to provide suitable organic matter, protect … Read more

Fungi are often associated with mushrooms, but most fungal activity happens out of sight. Fine threads called mycelium grow through soil, compost, wood and other organic materials, breaking down complex substances and interacting with plant roots. Used appropriately, fungi can help connect two goals that are sometimes treated separately: producing food and caring for the … Read more

Mushroom beds can fit alongside a vegetable garden when they are treated as a separate growing system rather than as a guaranteed soil treatment. Most outdoor mushroom beds grow fungi on a carbon-rich material such as hardwood chips, logs or straw. Vegetables, by contrast, are grown for their roots and edible parts in soil or … Read more

Harvesting mushrooms can leave more than the mushrooms themselves. Depending on the growing method, you may have spent substrate, a used growing block or bag, trimmed stems, loose casing material, and packaging. These materials do not all have the same reuse value. Their suitability depends on the mushroom species, what the substrate contains, how wet … Read more

Mushroom beds are managed areas where fungi grow in a prepared layer of materials such as wood chips, straw, logs, or other suitable organic matter. They can be useful in a home garden because fungi are natural decomposers: they help break down complex plant material and return some of its nutrients to the wider soil … Read more

Swales and garden drainage areas can help direct, slow, and absorb rainwater while adding useful habitat to a garden. Fungi are one part of the living soil community that may support these areas, particularly where organic materials are breaking down and moisture levels vary. However, fungi are not a substitute for good drainage design. Their … Read more

A backyard mycofilter is a small, planted or mulch-filled area designed to slow ordinary garden runoff and help remove some suspended material before the water moves farther through the landscape. It uses fungal-colonised organic material as one part of a wider biological filtration system. Woodchips, straw, soil, roots, stems and vegetation all contribute by slowing … Read more

A rain garden is a planted landscape feature that receives runoff, slows its movement, and holds water temporarily while it soaks into the ground or moves safely toward an overflow route. It is not a pond, nor does it need to remain wet. With suitable soil, plants, mulch, and organic matter working together, a rain … Read more

Garden “waste” is often a useful biological resource waiting to be processed. Fallen leaves, small branches, woody prunings, straw and other suitable plant materials contain carbon and nutrients that can return to the soil rather than leaving the garden’s productive cycle. Fungi are especially important in this process. They are major decomposers of plant material, … Read more